Time of Troubles
The Time of Troubles was a period of significant instability within the Nesarian Empire that lasted from 941 (with the coronation of Emperor Mathuris I) to 960 (with the creation of the Imperial Coalition). It coincided with a deadly plague known as The Trouble which killed 30-40% of the Empire's population (which was at the time roughly 25,000,000). The various civil wars that took place throughout the Time of Troubles claimed approximately 2,000,000 lives, bringing the death toll up to anywhere from 9,500,000 to 12,000,000. The significant loss of life, though devastating in the short term, actually helped alleviate a serious overpopulation problem (particularly in Osdarth) and in the long term was beneficial for the Imperial economy. The Time of Troubles saw many pretenders staking their claim to the Imperial throne and raising armies to press those claims, combined with nationalist uprisings and the explosion of the conflict between the Emperor and the Imperial Council into open violence. In the span of the twenty year period that is the Time of Troubles, six Emperors were coronated, and a total of 43 people raised an army to press their claim to the throne. The period saw an unprecedented amount of Putrid Ones coming through to this world from the Dreadlands, invading virtually every corner of the Empire except the Western Desert (which was too hot for them). They are thought to be the originators of The Trouble. Causes Emperor Davos II died without any heirs in 941, and he did not name a successor. There were provisions for this in the Imperial constitution, and the succession then moved onto Davos' siblings, but he had none. The succession kept moving further and further away as no candidates could be found, until Mathuris was called upon by the Imperial Council to become Emperor, who was Davos' third cousin twice removed. Mathuris being chosen caused immediate uproar. There were many candidates who had an equal claim to the throne, and the Imperial Council was accused of merely picking the first valid candidate they found rather than the most worthy (of course, all the candidates considered themselves the most worthy). Many also objected to the whole idea of the Imperial Council being able to choose the Emperor, but these same people also conveniently forgot to offer any feasible solution as to how an Emperor could possibly be chosen when there was nobody else with the authority to choose. Four people who all had an equal claim to the throne declared that they were the legitimate Emperor and began gathering support for their cause; Rotis II, Tadanos, Athos and Elluyi. Seeing this, many members of the Imperial dynasty - as well as some who did not carry the name, but had close blood relations - who had lesser claims also took up arms, until the situation completely spiralled out of control, and by 943 there was a whopping 24 simultaneous claimants who were all fighting both Emperor Mathuris and each other. It is likely that the intensity of the whole situation was exacerbated so suddenly into civil war by the economic and social troubles of the Empire at this time. A string of corrupt and incompetent administrators had mismanaged the Empire's economy - not to mention that the ruling class as a whole had generally grown soft and greedy with the many centuries of peace - and the Empire's economy was beginning to buckle under its own weight, as in many places, particularly Osdarth, Avamoria and Ascaria, the population had grown too large to sustain itself and there were shortages of practically every resource, but most importantly food. Therefore, not only were the self-interested nobles chafing for power and glory, but the general population was eager (and in many places, desperate) to search for a solution to their seemingly inescapable problems, which is how so many claimants were able to drum up support so quickly. Indeed, for many people the problems were indeed inescapable, and the only real solution was the drastic population decline that came with the war and plague. Qaateeni Rebellion In 947, the Qaateeni nobles banded together and, with the blessing of the Nakkalite priests, declared war upon the Indissian state. While some desired total independence, the majority of them desired merely to be recognised as a separate and fully autonomous entity within the Nesarian Empire. This was something which the Emperors and Imperial Council largely did not care about, and in truth many of them were sympathetic to the Qaateenis and desired their separation from Indissia, but one huge stumbling block stood in the way; the Indissians, who were vehemently opposed to the notion of Qaateen escaping their grasp. The Indissians fought against the rebellion without mercy, their behaviour shocking to even the Indissians back at home, who were horrified of the reports of Indissian soldiers killing all prisoners, indiscriminately slaughtering whole towns and cities, salting the fields, burning food stores and poisoning water supplies. For a time, this only spurred the Qaateenis to fight harder, but they grew exhausted of the sheer extent of the devastation. Qameera, the ancient capital of Qaateen, fell in 958 after a gruelling ten-year siege, and it was utterly razed, every single inhabitant put to the sword, destroyed so thoroughly that only bits and pieces of rubble remained. This finally made the Qaateeni nobles surrender in 959, and they were tortured to death, but their people suffered no more.